


Family Drabbles

by Nymphie66



Category: DCU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-19
Updated: 2021-03-13
Packaged: 2021-03-15 18:41:27
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,100
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29563437
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nymphie66/pseuds/Nymphie66





	1. Chapter 1

Bruce sighed as he slowly approached the mansion, his eyes darting around, looking for that familiar face. There was a police patrol car parked at the front of this mansion, its lights flashing. Various drunk teenagers in handcuffs lurking around the front as officers spoke to them, their words falling on deaf ears. The voicemail that his daughter had left him played in his mind. 

_"Heyy... dad.. I need you to pick -hic- me up. Everything is a okay no need to panic... I just need to go to bed but please get here very quickly because I think the cops are here and somebody -hic- has had some alcohol and- just get here asap!"_

It was muffled and sounded like Helena was hiding in closet full of clothes. Bruce was about to go out on patrol when he had received it. No one was at the manor and Alfred had said that this was apparently a rite of passage for all parents, so that meant he had to quickly change and drive out to where he had tracked Helena's phone. It was a classmate's mansion and wasn't too far away. Surprisingly, he had never had to do this before. Dick only ever snuck out as Robin, not really a fan of drunken wayward parties and Jason couldn't stand the company, he wasn't used to a teenager who behaved exactly as they should, minus the trauma of course. So, here he was in his sweats, looking for his drunken daughter.

He was relieved to see that she wasn't among the teenagers arrested, but realised that she must still be inside. But that was proven to be wrong when he drove only slightly away from the mansion, closer to its gardens, and a golden heel was thrown at his passenger's door. His eyes darted to the source and from the bushes he saw a bejewelled arm stick out, waving frantically. "Oh for fucks sake.." 

Helena emerged from the bushes her makeup was slightly smudged and she still had a drink in her hand. Leaves and twigs were stuck in her hair and on her lilac minidress. She staggered towards the car, shielding her face from anyone who may recognise her. Bruce had opened the door for her, so she grabbed her shoe and threw herself into the car, gesturing wildly for Bruce to drive. "Go! Go! Go! Drive!!!" 

Bruce shook his head and pulled away from the mansion, battling Helena slightly as he put her seatbelt on.Oonce they were a good distance away from the mansion he pulled in, he then rolled down his window and grabbed Helena's red solo cup that she was drinking from, throwing it out of the window. "Helena! What the hell was that?" 

"That was my rum and coke until you threw it out of the window.." Helena said, sadly staring out the window where her drink was residing in a nearby bush. Bruce put his head in his hands before looking at his daughter. Who was swaying and smelled like she had bathed in whiskey. 

"How much have you had to drink?" Bruce asked calmly, realising that was the best way to get through to her. Helena looked at him, confused her head swaying from side to side before processing what Bruce had asked her.

"Oh well there were the pre drinks I had in the limo with Danny and Bette, then there was some champagne, then someone gave me a shot, and then it was cocktail hour and somebody said I couldn't drink three drinks in a row under 2 minutes, so obviously I had to prove them wrong. Next-" 

"-Okay, okay. You've had a lot then. You do realise that you are five years under the legal drinking age?" Bruce reminded her, but Helena made an unimpressed sighing noise. "You could have been arrested back there."

"Do you have any snacks? I am soooooooo hungry!" Helena whined, uninterested in her father's lecture, as she banged her head against the dashboard, harder than she had expected. "Owww!" 

Bruce didn't mean to laugh but the way Helena's head just bounced, made it too hard not to. Luckily Helena was too drunk to notice and was more concerned on her seatbelt that she thought was strangling her. "We have food at home." 

"Noo... I need.. I need food and and its not a home its at the store. Please!" Helena cried out, grabbing Bruce's arm which caused him to swerve. 

"Helena, enough!" Bruce shouted as he shoved her arm off him so he could actually steer. But it came out a bit harsher than expected and had upset Helena. It started with a small sniffle and quickly escalated to sobbing. 

"I'm s-sorry! I just wanted a-a snack a-and y-you-" The rest of Helena's sentence was incomprehensible as Helena started to cry louder, her mascara running down her cheeks. Bruce felt a pang of guilt in his stomach and put a hand on her shoulder trying to calm her down. 

"Hey, hey I'm sorry, I just didn't want us to crash and get hurt." Bruce apologised, looking nervously at the road and his daughter who was smearing the mascara onto the back of her hands. He really didn't have this parenting-a-girl thing under his belt and it had almost been a full 10 months since she had come to the Manor. His poor attempt at soothing didn't seem to work as Helena started crying even louder. "Okay, okay we'll go to the store and get some snacks, does that make it better?" 

"....yeah" Helena sniffled as she used a nearby dinner jacket, that Bruce kept in this car as a spare, as a tissue. Wiping her snot and tears on the designer material. Bruce pulled into a 24 hour superstore. He guessed that he could pick up some of the groceries Alfred needed. As soon as he parked, Helena was out of the car, running one heel on and one heel off towards the store, wearing the same dinner jacket as a coat. Bruce winced thinking about all the dangers an unprotected foot had in a 24/7 superstore parking lot and noted to get some anti-bacterial cream. He followed her into the store thinking that she couldn't get that far. But was wrong as it seemed that she could get very very far. A part of him admitted defeat and just grabbed a shopping cart, surveying the aisles for the drunk mini-dress-foliaged, one-high-heel-designer-dinner-jacket wearing sixteen year old. As he went up and down the aisle, grabbing various items that he knew Alfred needed, he heard a conversation. 

"Listen, I won't tell if you don't okay, we can share." He turned the corner to see Helena eating a bag of chips, trying to feed a stuffed animal that was on the shelf. She had shoved her heels into the dinner jacket pockets and was now just walking around barefoot. I one her arm's was a basked filled with the junk food she had scavenged from the store. She was quite a sight for sore eyes and Bruce considered taking a picture, but decided to have mercy. Though he made another mental note to wipe this store security footage. Helena saw him and quickly grabbed the stuffed animal, a leopard, she was talking to and hid that and the chips behind her back. "Hey.." 

"What are you doing there?" Bruce asked amusedly, as he walked towards her.

"Nuffing.." 

"Okay, well if you put it in the trolley then we can buy it." Bruce reasoned with her, gesturing to the cart. Helena slowly put the leopard in the cart and then put the half eaten bag next to it. "Do you want anything else?" 

"Uhmm.." Helena thought for a moment, hard, that made her stagger slightly. "I don't think so... but um my feet really, really hurt so um.." Helena was looking at the cart enviously, clearly angling to get in it. Bruce sighed and dropped his head, moving some of the items so there was a space for her. As soon as that space came available she clambered in, putting her own basket in her lap, her legs dangling out the cart. 

Bruce pushed the cart towards the checkout, this time taking a photo to quickly send to Alfred. Evidence of him putting the effort in. Helena was munching on another bag of chips and pointing at various things she found funny. Bruce was glad that it was almost 1AM, and the store was thankfully deserted. He walked through the frozen aisle and was almost frightened by Helena's shout for him to stop. She frantically pointed at something that was encased in the glass freezer. Bruce abruptly stopped and looked to what she was pointing out. _Talenti Gelato; Salted Caramel._

"Oh per favorne! Per-"

"Helena shhh, use your English." Bruce gently reminded her. It had taken hard work to make Helena's American accent seem natural and overpower her strong Italian one. This was all to misdirect the public in figuring out her background and heritage. For all they knew Helena was just a product of one of Bruce Wayne's many conquests, which in a way, was the truth. Helena looked at him innocently and she soon clapped a hand round her mouth before correcting herself. 

"Please, please can I ha

The cashier didn't even give the two a second look, but Bruce gave them an extra $100 anyways. By the time they got to the car 


	2. Chapter 2

In the lift Clark readjusted his tie. He was nervous, he hadn't thought that Helena would have ever accepted his invitation for an interview, let alone this soon and at this time of night. It was 10pm and the WE building was empty, with only a few late night worker's and PA's minding their own business. He didn't know what exactly he was walking into. Kara had told him that Helena had said that she would be offline for a while and wasn't answering anyone. He couldn't exactly blame her, finding out from the press that your father has given your job away to your younger brother is quite the blow. 

He had talked to Bruce briefly when he first heard the news, much like everyone else, he was confused. Helena had relatively grown up with the company. She started as an intern and progressed until eventually, when her father disappeared, she became CEO. She knew everything about the company, from the people to its values. She had connections in high places and was seemingly doing an excellent job considering the circumstances. Clark wasn't even sure if Tim had graduated high school yet. 

He knew that Tim was a kid genius though, and that Bruce's reasoning for him being CEO was somewhat comprehensible. Tim was innovative, he had a passion for research and development. He had (from behind the scenes) headed multiple successful projects at Wayne Tech. There was no denying that Tim could take the division to new heights, but Wayne Enterprises? Well they would all find out soon enough. The headlines had read that Mr Wayne had given Mr Drake the position because he felt that he would lead them down a path of development, of academic promise. Miss Wayne held a temporary position and knew that it would not be permanent. 

Clark didn't believe that. He had seen Bruce earlier and had managed to pry some information out of him, but he didn't feel like it was the truth. Then when Perry gave him the assignment to find out what the woman on everyone's mind thought, he knew that the world was punishing him for something. He and Helena had a civil relationship, but he was by far her favourite person and he could understand. She was raised to hate him but eventually she had found respect for him (he hoped). Sure he disapproved of some of her methods but he really felt for her. He knew the difficulty of balancing two worlds, two cultures in your life. Plus she had helped his cousin in ways that he was eternally grateful. So he would keep his admiration at bay, too keep their relationship balanced. Yet he couldn't help but feel warmed that she trusted him, to intrude in such a time of distress.

The elevator doors opened and Clark stepped out onto the executive floor, he had been here a few times before when Bruce was running the company. It was weird seeing it so empty. He walked his way to the CEO office. The plaque that once read 'H. Wayne." was missing, and Clark was reminded of the awkward situation. He could see that the lights were on behind the frosted glass and that somebody was in there. He knocked three times, politely. He overheard some cussing before the locked door was opened. 

"I forgot that you damned boy scouts arrive five minutes early." Helena sniffed, as she gestured him to come inside, before quickly shutting the door again. Clark was in slight shock. He was expecting almost anything, a trashed room, knives in the wall, Helena yelling at anything and everything. Not the running mascara on the ex-CEO's cheeks and a trashcan full of used tissues. "Please, take a seat. Sorry about the mess." 

Helena gestured to the tissues on the desk, but Clark hadn't noticed that. What he had noticed was the pushed down picture frame. "No, no it's okay. You know we don't have to do this formally, or at all. Whatever you want Helena." 

"Whatever I want, huh? I think this is the first time _that's_ been put into consideration." Helena chuckled and Clark couldn't help but awkwardly smile as he sat in the opposing chair as she sat behind the desk. "Besides, I'm sure this exclusive interview will break your career wide open." 

"Kara mentioned that you weren't taking anyone's calls." Clark said softly, Helena looked down sheepishly and pointed towards the vase of flowers that stood on an adjacent table. They were lilies, which was now painfully ironic, but the most intriguing thing about them was the cracked phone that swam in its waters. "Ok, fair enough. Though you just tell me what you feel comfortable, I'm no Vicki Vale." 

"Ah yes, the woman who single handily managed to humiliate my entire working career." Helena smiled as she picked up her mug, as if to toast to it. Clark suddenly felt a wave of guilt, perhaps that was not the best thing to say, Vicki was indirectly the one who had told Helena of her demotion. Though Helena moved on before he could say anything. "Actually Clark, I have a question for you." 

"How so?" 

"Well, you've talked to my father." Clark didn't know how she knew that but nodded his head regardless. "Why? Why do you think he made this decision? You see I have a running theory but I just want to see if I could be right about it." Helena sat back in the lux office chair, holding the mug close to her chest. Clark was beginning to suspect that it wasn't tea or coffee within it. "And don't give me any of that press stuff, because I know that's not it." 

Clark felt quite caught out. He definitely didn't think that Helena would be interviewing him. She was right, however. Clark did know more than the press on why Bruce made this decision, Clark had actually seen him earlier that afternoon and had an at length discussion with him about the situation. Though just like any good journalist, he wouldn't form his opinion till he had all sides of the story. Helena stared at him aimlessly for a short while, as if she intended on looking at him but something else was preoccupying her mind. 

"He mentioned that there was a large sum of money that he couldn't account for nor track where it went." Clark cleared his throat before continuing more quietly. "He thought that you may have used certain 'connections' to acquire it and were using it for illegal matter regarding the DA and tax exemption." 

As soon as he finished his sentence, Helena slammed her hand down onto the desk, like some morbid _Eureka!_ moment. "I fucking knew it, sorry for my language, but I fucking knew that would bite me in the ass." 

Clark cocked a brow in slight confusion, "So that's true? He was right.." 

"No, no he fucking wasn't." Helena affirmed more sombrely, tears welling back in her eyes. Clark scrambled for the handkerchief he had in his pocket, his Ma raised a gentleman after all. He offered it to Helena and she took it almost shamefully. Clark realised that this was the first time he had seen her cry since she was a child and they had rescued her from her Uncle. 

"Then tell me why he wasn't." Clark said as he leaned closer to the desk, a supportive look on his face. 

"I might have ruined your handkerchief," Helena chuckled as she held up the black stained cotton. Clark chuckled with her and assured her that she could keep it. "Before I tell you though I need you to answer me just one thing." Clark nodded. "Do you believe him?" 

"Honestly, I think briefly I did, and that was wrong." Clark amended, "But I knew not to yet pass judgement till I heard what you had to say, and as soon as I walked through your door I knew that there was more to it. So please, tell me." 

Helena took a deep breath in and exhaled before leaning back in the chair again. "When I took control of the company after Dad disappeared, I looked through the finances with a fine tooth comb and compared them to the CEO finance records. I saw that 4 years ago we put out an appeal for a charity grant that we had matched the criteria to. It was one where if you had paid a certain amount of tax and did a certain amount of charity work, you received some tax back to continue the charity work. We were approved for it but I saw that we never received the funds. Instead we had dipped into my father's personal funds to replace the missing funds."

"The grant didn't have an expiration date which meant that I could, and did go through years of documents to find exactly who was in charge of the application for the grant. I then went through the DA's records to find the according documents, which I think took three years off my life." Clark chuckled knowing from his own investigative practices that anything to do with law records aged you about ten years due to the unapparent complexity of the matter. "Thankfully because of the nature of the grant, our paperwork wasn't thrown out so I was able to find out why it hadn't gone through." 

"And why was that?" 

"The residing DA then had said that there was an error with the application and put it in stasis until we fixed the error. But did not alert us, or apparently anyone that they had done so. My guess was because they didn't want the application to go through because it would mean that the government would have to give the money that they used to pay them off, to us." 

Admittedly Clark was unsurprised at the corruption

"Regardless, they held us in stasis because they argued that the signatures were forged. I did think might have been a possibility because the amount of WE papers I have seen Alfred sign off as my dad is insane." Helena commented almost wistfully. "But they were false charges, which meant we had a case for disruption of charitable funds, which in the court of law, if proven has prison time and disbarment plus an investigation. Such would guarantee him being fired or worse, if you know what I mean." Clark did unfortunately know what she meant, with corruption always came ties to some higher ups who had penchant for faking others suicides.

"Which I happily reminded the DA who just so happens to be the same one from 4 years ago, people tend to forget that I have a degree in law and have actually passed the bar exam. I even recorded the entire exchange, for proof, if you want?" Helena offered, but Clark shook his head and she continued "So I proposed that if they got the application fast tracked and transferred us the funds owed from the past few years, I would drop the case. He agreed and that's how we got the money. No bribing or dodgy connections at all" 

"Just dedication to a cause," Clark smiled, he believed her wholeheartedly and could see that it perfectly explained the lack of explanation behind the sudden sum of money. "So I take it that the tax exemption would be because the money is charitable and therefore tax exempt?"

"Exactly. I had the money instantly moved into the Martha foundation which does not appear on company records because we don't publicise the money that we have donated from the company. As set out by my own father." Helena finished as she brought her mug back up to her lips, leaving Clark slightly in awe of how wrong he and Bruce were. All Helena had done was picked up a mistake that wasn't even her own and fought for it. "I didn't tell anyone about it because it would have made my father seem careless. After that incident I went through every single application that we had at the DA, that my father had signed off on and looked for any signs of forgery, which there undeniably was and went through the process on each and every document to resign them."

"Because it was worth it, for the community and to cover the company." Clark carried on for her, his admiration for her growing. "Because you knew that the DA would try and put any document he could in stasis or pursue you on forgery." 

"People's jobs were at risk, pension funds, maternity and paternity pay, anything and everything. I had to because I care deeply about the company." Helena confessed, "When I first worked for the company I thought that it was just your average corporation, but I was so wrong. It was so much more than that. It was a family business. One where people didn't suddenly just go missing." Clark felt a laugh escape him but her tried to cover it up as a cough. Helena smiled at him, letting him know that it was okay to laugh. "Even as an intern I enjoyed doing the coffee rounds, because I knew I was helping good people do good things. Even as I climbed the ranks, I did so because of my skill because I had earned it, not because I was the boss' daughter." 

"I used to get so angry at my Dad for seemingly abandoning the company and exploiting it for his toy collection, but he cared for it too. He used to tell me about how his mother and father had taken my great grandfather and nurtured it till it was given him to flourish and eventually it would be given to someone else to thrive. I thought that person was me when I was appointed CEO, but clearly not. I didn't even make it to then end of my fiscal year." Helena sighed, she felt tears come to her eyes. "Regardless, it was a better story than the backstabbing and murder on my mother's side. Which is why I would have rather killed myself over this company then let it ever come into even the littlest form of corruption It was too precious." 

Clark felt an overwhelming sense of sympathy for Helena. He wanted nothing more than to hug her but knew that there were boundaries. "Why haven't you told Bruce this? I'm sure he would change his mind once he knew." 

"I think you're being a bit too optimistic there, Clark." Helena sniffed as she wiped her eyes again. She really thought that she was going to cry herself into serious dehydration. "I've already tried. I just get too passionate about it and end up yelling and he just shuts down or walks off when that happens. He told me that it was because of the money but I never get to explain myself properly. Besides, it won't change what he thinks of me. What he will always think of me." 

Clark frowned, "What's that?" 

Helena put her hands to her face, the words burning on her tongue. Her heart clenching as indescribable pain tore through her lungs. She tried to control her breathing, knowing that once she said it, she wouldn't be able to stop the tears. "That.. That I'm.." Helena began to cry more and Clark ran over to stand by her, a comforting hand on her shoulder. "I'm just some dirty Italian." 

Clark froze and he felt a flash of pure rage wash over him. He had to take his hand off of Helena's shoulder in order not to break it. How could someone, let alone their own father, ever think such a thing. Not only was it racist and an awful stereotype, but it was completely untrue. He didn't care if Bruce had actually said that or not, because for her to even think that meant that Bruce had made that impression on her at some point. He composed himself to turn back to the young woman and knelt so that they were eye level. He gently moved Helena's hand from her face so that she could look at him. 

"Helena, listen to me. You are not dirty in any way. Okay? You are not dirty." Clark asserted, slipping into his Superman voice. "Sure your family were not the most lawful, but they did what they thought was right and they were your family. They raised you to be the strong and good person, I see today. I know we may differ in our forms of heroism but you do what is necessary for the community you protect, and that is commendable. You have saved many, many lives Helena."

"But.. but Andre-" Helena cried before being interrupted by Clark. 

".. Is one of your last living relatives. Nobody can blame you wanting to have a connection with him." Clark assured. "Bruce was incredibly wrong to ever think that you would ever endanger the company in such a way when all you have done for this place is good, honest work."

Helena stared at Clark for a moment, her lip wobbling slightly, her makeup completely smudged. Clark thought that perhaps he hadn't said enough till she suddenly wrapped her arms around him. The two stood, and Clark let her be vulnerable, she needed this. She had kept such a good image and just needed this so she could breathe. As Clark held her all he could think about was Bruce. How could he do this to her? How dare he do this to her? His daughter. It seemed that he was just winding himself up again as Helena uttered out that he was hugging her too tightly. He quickly let go. 

"Sorry Hel, I was thinking about a few things I wanted to say to your father." Clark told her, "If you don't mind, of course." 

Helena chuckled, using the handkerchief she still had in her had to dab at her cheeks. "Its fine by me, I don't think I could talk to him yet." 

"Well I will pass on your regards." Clark joked, hoping to cheer her up. "I will tell Perry that you called off the interview, so you don't need to worry about this leaving the room." 

"Oh well I don't mind you taking certain aspects of it back, I mean nothing incriminating and embarrassing." Helena told him, "And don't go hard on Tim, it's not his fault. So maybe send it to me first just in case." 

Clark smiled, even in the worst scenarios Helena was still protective of her family. "Will do. Do you want me to call Kara so she can pick you up?" Clark gestured to the floating phone in the vase. Helena chuckled and thanked him, and walked over to show him out. Just as Clark stepped out to go he turned to her and asked her one final question. "Hey Helena, why did you accept the interview?" 

"Dick told me once that you were a good listener and I needed someone to listen to me." Helena smiled and Clark couldn't help but smile back at her. She gave him a small wave as he walked out of her office. She then solemnly shut the door and turned back to her desk. She trudged over, kicking off her heels at some point and threw herself into the chair. Bringing her mug of whiskey to her lips. She took a small sip as her fingers grazed over the turned down frame. The slowly she lifted it back off. 

It was a picture of her and Bruce, outside of Wayne Enterprises. It was her first day at work and they had stood in front of the building so that Alfred could take a photo. Bruce had said something uncharacteristically funny which had caused the two to laugh and Alfred had snapped the picture without them knowing. It was one of her favourite pictures in the whole world and it pained her that it now brought so much grief. Slowly she pushed it back down.

A day later an article came out from The Daily Planet was released. This was the title. 

_"Helena Wayne. The embodiment of Wayne Enterprise values."_

Alfred passive aggressively placed it on top of the keys of the Batcomputer that Bruce had been glued to. It obstructed his access to the keys so he was forced to look at it. As soon as he saw who it was written by his brows furrowed. He disapproved of Clark getting involved with his family matters and assumed that most of this information was false as _why would Helena speak to him?_ He asked Alfred to invite him to the Manor, not realising that he had fallen for the bait. As soon as Clark arrived Bruce found that the tables had turned and he was getting yelled at by the Kryptonian. 

"You couldn't see the worth of that girl if it was put on a price tag! She's the reason why the Martha Foundation was able to fund those three new youth centres!" 


End file.
